


Diplomacy

by C_VSM



Series: ArkAU [3]
Category: ARK: Survival Evolved, Original Work
Genre: Gen, POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-19 05:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29745429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C_VSM/pseuds/C_VSM
Series: ArkAU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1566562





	Diplomacy

"Lady Ísey! There's an envoy approaching us, from the Darkness tribe!"  
The white-haired woman lifted her gaze from the paperwork she was working on.  
"Darkness? Are you certain?"  
"Yes, m'lady. Were the colours mistakable, they carry the banner as well," the scout standing in the doorway replied, panic in his voice.  
Ísey stood up from her chair, making her way to the door.  
"Show me."  
The scout nodded, running ahead, out of the chieftess's fortress and to the outer southern wall. His leader tailed him closely; despite her age, she was still in very good shape.  
The scout stopped on the wall directly above the southeastern gate, tapping a guard on the shoulder and borrowing his binoculars.  
"See for yourself," he handed the binoculars to Ísey.  
Looking through them, she could indeed see an envoy donned in black. At its head was a heavily ornamented x-yutyrannus, with a tek ATV on either side, protecting it. She needn't have zoomed in on the rider to know who he was - Hadias the Destroyer, self-proclaimed "king" of the Darkness tribe, and most annoying man to have ever walked the ARKs.  
The envoy stopped a few metres from the gate, as the guards in front of it drew their pikes. The defences on the wall weren't lacking either; turrets and railguns were pointed directly at Hadias's head.  
"Ísey, my dear!" the Darkness chief yelled at the wall. "Is this any way to greet an old friend?"  
"What do you want, Hadias?" the older woman yelled back, annoyed, not acknowledging the mockery she was being subjected to.  
"I only wish to talk! I've even been nice enough to come unarmed," he replied just as cheerfully as before, and she could almost hear the signature smirk plastered on his face. She knew he was far from being truly unarmed, but in his case, that word meant that he at least didn't bring an army in tow.  
She sighed, resigning herself to another afternoon of arguing, and took a radio from the guard standing beside her.  
"Let him in," she ordered the guards below.  
"Ísey the Clever, Lady of the Moon tribe, welcomes you!" one of the guards' booming voices could be heard, but she was no longer listening. She returned the radio and binoculars to their owner, then turned around and walked back to her office. She was in no rush, Hadias always made his entrances as theatrical as possible, in a pitiful attempt to appeal to the masses.  
This time was no different, as she could hear his yutyrannus roaring before he finally let his hosts take it to the stables.  
  
She moved the last pile of paperwork from the table to the bookshelf and sat down, when Hadias and his guards finally walked in.  
"Ísey," his demeanor was significantly less friendly in private. "We've much to discuss."  
She placed her arms on the table, interlocking her fingers, and looking her guest directly into the eyes. While his intimidation tactics worked on many higher-ups, and even many other tribe leaders, she wasn't afraid of him. She had proven herself before to be better at the art of war than he was, and she would gladly remind him, were he to cross any boundaries.  
"I'm all ears, Hadias," she addressed him with the same unfriendly tone he had given her.  
He looked over his shoulder and beckoned his guards to leave the room, sitting down opposite from the chieftess and taking off his helmet as the door finally closed.  
"It has been brought to my attention that your priest, who wiped out three quarters of my best scout team a few months ago, has reappeared on my ARK. I want him restrained and brought to me to be put through trial."  
"Firstly, my dearest friend," she hissed at him, "the aberrant ARK does not belong to you simply because you've decided to make it your capital. All of us live there." The change in his expression was subtle, but she could tell he was becoming infuriated. She wasn't about to feed his delusion of ruling the ARKs.  
"Secondly, I've told you the first time you came crying to me about it: Seren is not a part of the tribe anymore. Though he dons our colours, you should treat him as an outcast; you've no need for a trial. I have no power over him, nor do I care what happens to him."  
"My scouts' reports say otherwise," he cut her off.  
"Excuse me?"  
He smirked.  
"You truly don't know? Well, well. Ísey "the Clever" seems to not be so clever after all."  
Her face went from shocked to annoyed in a matter of seconds.  
"Spit it out already."  
He chuckled, but spoke: "My scouts reported seeing "Mr. Unaffiliated" very much affiliated with your tribe, to the point where he regularly visits your outpost on Aberration just to mingle with the priests."  
The priests? What would he-  
Oh, no.  
Two weeks ago, she sent the high priest of the Moon, Jǫkull, to Aberration to train the new recruits. Him being the man who raised Seren, it's only natural for them to have at least some sort of bond.  
But Hadias doesn't know that. He has no idea that the boy is a mutant, and Ísey will do anything to keep that from him. Anything to keep the information Seren's existence holds from him.  
Keeping her face emotionless, she responded: "I will personally question the Moon Temple on Aberration, if it helps your paranoia. However, I don't see why you want to put Seren through trial - he's an outcast, you can legally kill him."  
Hadias's expression darkened even further, if that was even possible.  
"The boy possesses unnatural strength and agility. He defeated guards with military training on his own. I've no wish to sentence him to death; I demand you bring him to me for containment, or there will be trouble."  
Ísey froze. He means to experiment on Seren.  
Throughout all the years of warring and bickering, Ísey has managed to keep the existence of implant mutations a secret from Hadias. She knew that, the madman he was, he would find a way to use them to his advantage. And, were she to stand idle now, he would achieve exactly that.  
"I'm afraid that won't be possible," she responded, her voice cold as ice.  
Hadias pressed his lips into a thin line, clearly dissatisfied with the answer, but keeping his fury under professional control.  
"For someone who "doesn't care" about what happens to the boy, you seem to care an awful lot."  
"I won't let you use the boy for your deluded experiments. The answer is no."  
"Then, my dearest Ísey, the next time we see eachother, it will be on the battlefield," he said, standing up, re-equipping his helment, and heading towards the exit.  
He grabbed the handle, looking over his shoulder at his nemesis, who was now glaring daggers at him.  
"May the Gods have mercy on you, because I certainly won't."


End file.
